


Locked Out and Locked In

by ChristopherIAmToBe, TotallySamanthaToBe



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers AU, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Clint Barton & Tony Stark Friendship, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Past James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark Friendship, Past Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Past Tiberius Stone & Tony Stark Friendship, Stephen Is Annoyed By Tony, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-08 21:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15252705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristopherIAmToBe/pseuds/ChristopherIAmToBe, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotallySamanthaToBe/pseuds/TotallySamanthaToBe
Summary: Tony gets locked out of his apartment and becomes homeless. He ends up losing his job and struggles to find food.Luckily, a man named Stephen Strange finds him one rainy night and offers him a place to stay.They didn't predict the clashing personalities, nor the frequent fights and ignoring each other for hours.Through it all, they find themselves getting closer than they ever thought they would.





	1. Chapter 1 - Locked Out

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested by a friend of mine irl. She's pretty cool. She wanted something where Dr. Strange and Tony Stark had to be roommates. This is the result.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_ **

 

Tony stood at his apartment door, trying his key one more time. It still didn't work, which caused him to panic slightly. Tony knocked loudly, hoping one of his roommates would let him in. 

 

The door opened halfway but the engineer was blocked from getting in by Steve. 

 

"What are you doing here?" The blonde growled. Tony looked up at the taller man, feeling numb. 

 

"What do you mean?" The mechanic was starting to really freak out. The larger man snorted and laughed loudly. 

 

"You don't live here anymore. We already threw your stuff out. Nobody wants to live with a fucking **_homosexual_**." Steve sneered. 

 

"You guys knew that already. You were never bothered by it before." Tony said. Steve started to close the door, but the genius jumped in the way out of desperation. 

 

"What are you doing?!" The blonde yelled, shoving the smaller man backwards. 

 

"But what about-" Tony was cut off. 

 

"Get out of here. Beat it before we beat you." Tiberius said, appearing next to Steve. They slammed the door shut, leaving Tony outside. The genius stood there in shock for a moment, snapping out of his daze when he felt rain drops. 

 

In only seconds, it was pouring. Tony hurried down the steps and found his belongings ruined, covered in mud and God knows what else. Everything was soaked and completely unsalvageable. The engineer left everything except the blueprints, hoping to redo them over time, running into a nearby coffee shop. 

 

His trench coat, gloves, and scarf couldn't really keep him warm since he was soaked. The other customers looked at him, disapproval all over their faces. Tony sat down at an empty table, not bothering to order a drink. He would leave when the rain stopped. It seemed strange to the man that it was raining in winter but that was the least of his worries. 

 

Tony was doing the math of his budget in his head when he heard someone beside him clearing their throat. The genius turned to see a man with blue eyes and dirty blonde hair looking down at him. Tony noticed hearing aids in his ears and that he had a name tag reading 'Clint'.

 

"You alright? You seem pretty sad." He said softly. Tony's eyes widened at the genuine concern coming from this man. 

 

"I honestly don't know right now..." Tony answered. Clint sat down next to him. 

 

"Well, do you want to talk about it? I have time since my shift just ended." The engineer felt like crying. 

 

"Are you sure you really want to listen to me?" Tony asked. Clint nodded, smiling at the genius. 

 

"Of course! Tell me what's wrong." Tony explained his situation to the dirty blonde, who listened silently. 

 

"That's all, really. I guess I'm kind of homeless now." The mechanic said, sighing. Clint grabbed Tony's hand. 

 

"Well, hey, you still have a job. Things will get better, and if you need to, you can stay at my place for a while." The barista said. 

 

"Oh, I couldn't do that to you. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time, but thank you, really." Tony said quickly. Clint nodded. 

 

"It's okay. The offer still stands whenever you need it. I really have too much time on my hands, so don't worry about that, either." Tony smiled at the dirty blonde and looked outside. Seeing it had stopped raining, he stood up. 

 

"Well, I don't want to keep you, all the same. I'll be going now, but I'll stop by more often. It was really nice talking to you." 

 

"Same with you. I'll see you around." 

 

\----------------------

 

It was already late and Tony was exhausted. The engineer laid down on a park bench and fell asleep, dead to the world around him. 

 

When Tony woke up, he checked on the time and saw he was late for work. Panicking, the genius ran to the auto shop that he worked at. He ran into his boss, Cal, who looked distressed. 

 

"Tony... You said you wouldn't be late again." 

 

"I know, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I'm here now so-" The smaller man was cut off. 

 

"Tony... I'm sorry but we have to let you go. You can fix anything but I need someone dependable. If you ever need someone to recommend you, give me a call." Tony walked back to the park bench and sat down, head in his hands. 

 

' _H_ _ow the hell are things supposed to get better now?'_ The genius asked himself. Tony started crying, something he hadn't done in a long time. 

 

\-------------------------

 

The next morning came too fast and Tony was starving. He didn't bother to get up and leave, deciding to stay where he was. The engineer sighed as it began to rain again. Why it was raining so much in the winter was a mystery that the young genius wished he could solve. 

 

 _'Wish I had weather powers... I could make this rain go away...'_ Tony thought. The man didn't bother to run for cover like the other New Yorkers. Where would he go, anyway? Tony didn't feel like going back to the coffee shop or back to his old apartment. The genius wasn't going to beg for his ex-roommates to let him in. The mechanic started shivering. 

 

Eventually someone stopped in front of him, holding their umbrella over both their heads. 

 

"You alright?" Tony looked up to see a black-haired man with honey brown eyes looking down at him. 

 

"No, not really. I'm recently homeless and I just lost my job. My roommates kicked me out over a bullshit excuse and I'm freezing." The list of problems was much longer than that but Tony decided to keep it to a minimum. 

 

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you come with me? Stay until the rain stops?" Tony thought for a moment. 

 

"Okay... I'm Tony..." The genius said, holding out his hand. The man shook it and pulled the young engineer to his feet. 

 

"Bruce Banner. Pleased to meet you." 

 

"I've heard of you and I've read all your articles and papers! You're amazing." Tony's eyes were wide in amazement. 

 

"Oh. You can actually understand my research?" Dr. Banner seemed impressed. Tony nodded and the two men talked fluent science as they walked, a language only they could understand. Finally, they reached the apartment where Bruce lived. 

 

"Do you want to come inside? My roommates shouldn't be back from work yet." Tony agreed to stay for only a few minutes. 

 

"This place is nice." The younger genius commented. 

 

"Thanks. Here." Bruce handed Tony some leftover takeout, not accepting no for an answer. "If your roommates kicked you out, why can't you live with your parents?" Tony tensed up.

 

"I'd rather not go into detail but my father's favourite pastime was to hurt me..." The mechanic whispered, finishing the food quickly. Bruce's eyes widened. 

 

"Shit, I'm sorry." The physicist said, looking uncomfortable. Tony waved his hand at him dismissively. 

 

"It's fine, you didn't know. Not your fault and there's nothing you could have done." Bruce sighed and hugged the younger man. 

 

"You can stay here for a while." Tony shook his head quickly. 

 

"Absolutely not! I would feel horrible if I did that to you." Bruce nodded. 

 

"Well the offer still stands whenever you decide to take it." Tony smiled at the older man. 

 

The young engineer left after a few minutes, thankful that the rain had stopped. He wondered around until nighttime and decided to go back to Bruce's apartment building. He found a small alleyway, where he found a blanket and went to sleep behind some trash cans. 

 

His last thought was: _'It will get better.'_

 

_\----------------------------_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

\----------------------------

 

 


	2. Chapter 2 - Locked In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony had been living on the streets for a little while already and is desperate enough to accept help from strangers. Que Stephen Strange. Unfortunately, Stephen finds he bit off more than he can chew. Thankfully, his roommates are here to save the day! (Sort of (:< )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my friend who requested this finally has an AO3 account! Her name is TotallySamanthaToBe. I'm currently helping her with her Avengers Steampunk Fanfiction idea. When she gets it down, I hope you'll all read it. I've seen the rough draft of her first chapter and it's unfinished but really good so far! :D

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tony had been living in the streets for almost two weeks now. The genius was tired, hungry, and just fed up with everything. It was pouring outside and Tony held his soaked blanket close. The small man was shivering violently from the cold and was covered with dirt and grime. The mechanic's normally soft hair was greasy, knotted, and had some sort of sticky substance in it. Tony was very sure his breath smelled horrible and his clothes were ruined. 

 

The genius was hiding behind some trash cans under the stairs, trying to keep warm. Tony didn't notice the man who was shoving the cans aside to get a better look at him. The sudden hand on his shoulder startled the smaller man, looking up quickly. The stranger knelt down in front of him, holding his umbrella over the two of them, smiling gently. 

 

"Hey there. You wanna come with me?" Tony nodded, getting up slowly and following the man to one of the apartments. The man fed him and helped him bathe, which was somewhat embarrassing, but Tony was past the point of caring too much about it. Tony was able to brush him teeth and put on the stranger's over-sized clothes by himself, collapsing on his couch, exhausted. 

 

\---------------------------------

 

When Tony woke up, the stranger was sitting in front of him, looking worried. 

 

"You're awake." The genius sat up, staring at the man. "I'm Stephen." 

 

"Tony." 

 

"You doing okay? I honestly thought you were going to bolt when you woke up." Stephen said, laughing a little. Tony chuckled and shook his head. 

 

"Nah, that'd be rude. I feel much better now. I feel clean, so that's a definite plus." The genius said. Stephen offered him some food, which Tony gratefully took. "Thanks." 

 

"No problem. Can I ask why you were out on the streets?" Stephen asked. Tony bit his bottom lip gently, nodding. 

 

"My roommates kicked me out. It was for a bullshit reason but they were all kind of dicks anyway." The mechanic said quietly. Stephen nodded. 

 

"Oh, okay." There was an awkward silence between the two men for a moment and Tony started babbling. 

 

"So, what do you do for work? Do you like, have any pets? Do you have roommates? Are you going to get rid of me soon or something? What is your favourite colour? What kind of movies do you like? What-" The genius was cut off. 

 

"Can you stop talking for a bit?" Stephen asked, looking annoyed. The doctor was never a people person, nor did he pick up strays like this. Stephen didn't know why he had the feeling he should take Tony in but he was starting to regret his decision already.  _'God, why did I do this? I never do this!'_ Thankfully, he heard the door opening, signalling his roommates were home. 

 

"Stephen! What's up?" Clint yelled. The dirty blonde noticed someone on the couch and realized it was Tony. "Oh my gosh! Stephen you never pick up strays! Hi, Tony." Clint jumped next to the genius, who looked surprised to see him. Bruce sat down on the other side of Tony, hugging the smaller man. 

 

"Well, I approve of the one he brought in. We're keeping him." The physicist said. Clint laughed in agreement. 

 

"Yeah, but we all have to take care of him. That includes you, Stephen, since you were the one to pick him up." The dirty blonde said in a smug tone. Stephen groaned at that. 

 

"God, why? I take in one person, one, and you guys act like I'm actually going to help out?" Clint pinched on of Tony's cheeks. 

 

"Yes! Come on, Stephen, look how adorable he is. We'll be here to help you... Sometimes..." Tony couldn't help giggling at that statement and the mortified look on Stephen's face. 

 

"Well... I mean... I just felt like he's special... I don't know!" The doctor wasn't doing a very good job at defending himself. 

 

"You're going to help take care of him, okay? There's nothing you can do to get out of it." Bruce growled. The physicist's tone made it clear he was done with any nonsense that was going to come out of Stephen's mouth, making the doctor hang his head and sigh in defeat. 

 

"Fine. You guys will help me out, then. I'm not a people person, you both know this." Tony raised him hand, which was a weird habit he had sometimes. 

 

"If I may interject, shouldn't I have a say in this?" The other three men stared at him. 

 

"No." They said in unison. Tony's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything else. 

 

"Okay then..." He said weakly. 

 

"You're going to stay here until we say you can go outside, got it?" Bruce said, smiling at him. Tony nodded. 

 

"So I'm locked in here until you think I've recovered?" The physicist laughed. 

 

"Of course you are! You can't go out and try to interact with the world while you're all traumatized and weak. You must have gone without food for a long while before Stephen got to you." Tony saw that as reasonable. 

 

"Okay." 

 

"Don't be afraid to order Stephen around. He doesn't know how to take care of anything so you have to let him know what to do!" Clint said, cheerfully. 

 

"We're going out, now. Bye Stephen!" Bruce said, hooking his arm in Clint's. They walked back out of the apartment, laughing. Stephen was now very annoyed. 

 

"Great... So do I need to water you or something?" The doctor asked, now somewhat confused. His brain stopped working for the moment. 

 

"Uh... Sure?" Tony was confused as well.  _'What the fuck just happened? Did I just get adopted?'_  

 

"This day has to get better, right?" Stephen was thinking out loud. 

 

"Totally." The genius said. Stephen was even more annoyed. 

 

_'It's okay, Stephen... Just go to your happy place. It will get better.'_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading! Please stick around for the next update, I promise it'll be great. 
> 
> ~Christopher


	3. Chapter 3 - Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony learns about Stephen and one of Tony’s ex-roommates makes an appearance. That bitch!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Samantha and I are now co-writers in this story. Anyways, enjoy!
> 
> ~Christopher

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tony was learning new things every minute he spent with Stephen. The genius learned the doctor was easily annoyed. It didn’t take much for him to snap. Tony was good at staying just beyond the breaking point. The mechanic also learned that it was better to sit back and let Stephen do all the work rather than trying to help. The surgeon was very particular with most things.

 

Stephen was a great cook and a good listener, as well as kind when in a good mood. The doctor had a huge ego and loved compliments, which could be used to one’s advantage if he had been annoyed too much. Stephen had a goatee just like Tony and a fun sense of humor. The surgeon had a love for reading and writing fanfiction, as did Clint and Bruce.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“So what else do you need?” Stephen asked, once again annoyed with Tony. The genius didn’t even know what he did wrong this time.

 

“Can I have a blanket? It’s kind of cold. I wanted to watch TV with you, too.” The surgeon rolled his eyes, walking into another room and throwing a blanket at Tony. Picking up the TV remote, he sat down next to the smaller man.

 

Tony wrapped the blanket around himself, noticing Stephen was so close that their legs were touching. The surgeon was very warm, and the genius found he was still cold, even with the blanket. Tony scooted closer to Stephen, who did nothing to protest as he flipped through the channels quickly. The doctor ended up wrapping his arm around Tony, stopping on a comedy routine of Fluffy the Mexican.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The two of them were basically cuddling when Clint and Bruce walked in. Clint wolf whistled while Bruce started laughing.

 

“Get some, Stephen! I see why you picked him up. You thought he was hot!” The barista yelled. Both men on the couch blushed. Stephen jumped up and started yelling at his roommates, making Tony flinch violently.

 

The yelling reminded the mechanic of his previous roommates. Steve and Tiberius yelled at Tony often while Bucky talked down to him, insulting the genius and always hitting him where it hurt the most.

 

Tony curled into a ball, hiding his face behind his knees and started to cry. The engineer felt three pairs of arms wrapping around him as silent tears continued to fall down his face.

 

“What’s wrong, Tones? What set you off?” Clint whispered gently. Tony looked up slightly at the other men.

 

“Two of my roommates would yell at me most of the time. The other one really knew how to make you feel like you’re nothing.” Stephen’s face was a bright red.

 

“It’s okay, Tony. None of us will do that to you. It was wrong of those dipshits to do that.” Bruce said, his voice an octave lower.

 

“Okay, enough depressing shit!” Clint said loudly, clapping his hands. “Let’s get some ice cream to seal the deal. This friendship shall be real!”

 

“I think it’s already real, idiot.” Stephen said, looking unimpressed. Clint glared at him half-heartedly.

 

“I mean to make it official or some shit. Whatever. Just… Ice cream. Now.” The barista said, rolling his eyes. Tony giggled a little bit, making Clint flash the surgeon a triumphant smile.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When they reached the ice cream parlor, Tony was feeling a little uneasy. The genius felt like someone was watching them.

 

“Aww man, the line is way too long!” Clint whined. “Plus I need to pee!” Tony laughed a little at that and shook his head.

 

“I’ll go wait in line for you guys. It’s really no problem.” Clint smiled at Tony, hugging him.

 

“You are a precious thing! We don’t deserve you.” Stephen and Bruce went to sit down while Clint went to the bathroom and Tony stood in line. The genius suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Tiberius.

 

“Wow, Tony. You look well for a homeless man. Your boss told me you were fired, too. Man, three guys at once.

 

“Found some new ‘friends’ I see... You’re such a whore! They get to fuck you as long as you can stay on their couch, right?” Tiberius looked disgusted and his tone was very condescending and nasty. The people around them were giving Tony judgemental looks, making the smaller man feel much worse than he would if they were alone.

 

“Hey!” Clint’s voice came from behind them, startling Tiberius. “We’re just friends helping Tony out. You really don’t know anything about him.” Tiberius looked offended and flipped the barista the bird while Clint took Tony back to the table, giving the genius’s ex-roommate the blackest of looks.

 

“I think I have an idea of who that was…” Clint said as they approached the table. Tony sighed, sitting down heavily.

 

“That was Tiberius. He was one of my roommates before they kicked me out.” Stephen and Bruce shared concerned looks.

 

“What did he say to you?” Bruce demanded. Tony blushed and shook his head.

 

“It’s nothing.” Clint scoffed.

 

“It’s not nothing! He was insulting you. That bitch called you a whore for just having friends. Said you fucked us just to sleep on the couch, the disgusting little-” Clint was cut off by Bruce.

 

“Alright, enough bringing attention to the dickwad. It’s okay, Tony.” Stephen said softly. Bruce held the smaller man’s hand gently.

 

“Yeah. We’ll buy you extra ice cream.” The physicist said.

 

“He’s wrong you know.” Stephen added. “You’re really… Great…” Tony blushed at the compliment, not used to getting any at all.

 

“Th-thanks…” The mechanic said, looking away in embarrassment. Tiberius passed by their table with his ice cream and coughed before adding something.

 

“Slut.” Stephen jumped up, grabbing the man’s ice cream cone and smashing the treat all over Tiberius’s face.

 

“Fuck you!” The surgeon hissed as the blonde wiped the creamy substance out of his eyes.

 

“Y-you bitch! I’ll get even.” Tiberius growled, blushing as he stormed out of the parlor. Tony stared at Stephen with wide eyes, blushing as well.

 

“OhmyGod! You… Thank you!” The smaller man smiled brightly, making Stephen turn a bright pink. Clint smirked and nudged his friends.

 

“I’ll go stand in line with Bruce. You two should spend some time together.” The barista said. Tony laughed and scooted closer to the surgeon.

 

“Whatever you say, Katniss.” The genius said with an innocent look on his face. Bruce dragged a surprised Clint away to stand in line, giggling quietly.

 

‘ _Maybe today hasn’t been so bad after all…_ ’ Tony thought.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? I know it’s taken forever for me to update. And for those who follow my I Thought I Had It Figured Out story, I’m almost done with the next chapter. I really hope you’ll like it! 
> 
> ~Christopher


	4. Chapter 4 - Bucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky shows up; Scott works at a Chinese restaurant and is a jerk. Stephen is suddenly aware of his feelings and it causes major confusion. The whirlwind of emotions inside cause him to lash out in anger. Tony doesn't understand why at first until he goes next door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Chris here! Hope you like this chapter. Took me a while to complete. Read on!

_**\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

_**\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

 

Tony was very excited. The genius had been living with Stephen, Clint, and Bruce for two weeks and they finally deemed him ready to go outside as long as he had supervision.

 

After the incident with Tiberius at the ice cream parlor, Tony wasn't allowed to go outside, nor did the others bring him out for anything else.

 

"Alright, I'm going to go run some errands. You're going with me because we can't leave you in the apartment alone." Stephen said quietly, handing Tony his jacket.

 

Tony loved wearing Stephen's jacket because it was always warm and smelled like Stephen and the surgeon's expensive cologne that the genius loved so much. It didn't really matter that all of Stephen's clothes were huge on Tony. The mechanic loved that, too.

 

"Okay! Is it cold outside?" Tony held the jacket to his nose and inhaled deeply, sighing in contentment. Stephen held back his giggles and shook his head with a sigh.

 

"Yes, it's very chilly. I... I wouldn't mind if you stayed close to me if you needed to." Stephen blushed a little, as did Tony. They just had a fight this morning that didn't seem to matter any more. Neither man could remember what it was about.

 

"A-alright. Are we leaving now?" Tony stared into Stephen's eyes, surprised at how beautiful they were. The mechanic wished he'd known them sooner. Stephen stared back for a moment before straightening up quickly.

 

"Yes, we're leaving right now. Come on." Tony quickly followed Stephen out the door, locking it behind them.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After a few errands, Stephen stopped in front of a bench.

 

"I need to go to a shop nearby and I need you to stay here." Stephen hoped Tony didn't see where he was going. To his relief, Tony nodded and sat down.

 

"Don't be long!" The genius said cheerfully.

 

Stephen nodded and ran off to wherever he was going, leaving Tony behind.

 

It hadn't even been a minute when someone stood in front of him. Tony looked up from his phone that Stephen got him, expecting the surgeon.

 

"Hey..." Bucky said quietly. Tony was completely silent for a moment.

 

"Wh- what do you want?" The mechanic failed to sound tough in any way, shape, or form.

 

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I moved out, away from those two monsters. If I wasn't a dick to you, they were going to kick me out. I'm actually living in the apartment next to you with two guys, Sam and Scott." Bucky seemed very sincere.

 

"I believe you and I forgive you." Tony said softly. Bucky smiled brightly and hugged the smaller man. They heard someone clearing their throat beside them, and they turned to see Stephen holding a bouquet of flowers, red roses to be specific.

 

"Tony, who is this?" The surgeon asked, looking annoyed.

 

"I'm one of Tony's ex-roomates and I was awful to him. I came to tell him I'm sorry, and I moved in next door to you guys. I was hoping we could be friends." Stephen stared at Bucky, searching for lies. Finally, he seemed to accept the man's answer, holding out his hand.

 

"I'm Stephen Strange." Bucky shook the surgeon's hand. The brunette was clearly happy to have new friends.

 

"James Barnes. Most people call me Bucky." Stephen nodded.

 

"Interesting. Oh, Tony, these are for you. The surgeon handed Tony the roses, making the smaller man blush as Bucky smirked.

 

"Th- thanks, Stephen. I love them." The mechanic hid his face, knowing he probably looked like a tomato.

 

"Tony, darling, don't hide your face." Stephen said, lifting Tony's chin so that he could see the genius' expression. The two men stared at each other for a moment until Bucky cleared his throat beside them.

 

"I'm just going to go now. You two have fun, okay?" The brunette gave them a thumbs up, running off to his destination.

 

"Well... It's time to go home, yeah?" Tony started walking towards their apartment, Stephen following beside him.

 

"Yeah..."

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 When they went inside, Clint and Bruce were there waiting for them.

 

"Where have you two been?" Bruce asked, noticing Tony's flowers.

 

"Out running errands." Stephen answered. "What about you two?"

 

"We've been waiting for you all day." Clint said, rolling his eyes.

 

"Why?" Tony asked.

 

"We're taking you out to eat!" Bruce said excitedly. Tony put the roses in a vase.

 

"Okay. Well, we're here now. I'm ready to go." Stephen said, ignoring the questioning looks he got from Clint and Bruce.

 

"Yeah, I'm ready to go, too." Tony said, bouncing on his toes. Bruce smiled and grabbed the car keys.

 

"Then let's go." Tony followed the physicist and his other two roommates out the door, wondering where they were going.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They ended up going to a Chinese restaurant called Ace. Their waitress was nice but she kept winking at Stephen and giggling at everything he said. All of them were getting annoyed with her quickly, especially when she started listening in to their conversations, openly voicing her opinions and invading their privacy.

 

Tony glared at her fiercely, surprising his roommates. None of them knew he could look so scary. The waitress seemed unaffected, unfortunately. Finally, Stephen stood up, saying he was going to the bathroom, but when he came back, there was another guy with him.

 

"Hey, Wanda, I'm taking your tables." The waiter said.

 

"What? Scott, that's not fair! I'm not going to just let you take all my tables!" The waitress hissed.

 

"Well multiple people have been complaining and if it keeps up, you'll be fired." Scott said, a smug look on his face. Tony snickered, earning a vicious glare from the girl. Scott laughed loudly as Wanda stormed off.

 

"Hey neighbour!" Clint said, fist bumping their new waiter.

 

"Hey guys. Never seen you here before. And hey, I've never seen this lil' guy. Who're you?" Tony blushed slightly.

 

"I'm Tony..." The genius said quietly. Stephen blushed and puffed out his chest.

 

"It's not really your business, Scott. Tony's pretty great. He's a genius and not an ass like you." The surgeon growled. Scott smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at Tony.

 

"He's pretty sexy, Stephen. I think I'll take him on a date sometime." Stephen grabbed Tony's wrist roughly, his face very red.

 

"Absolutely not! No fucking way are you going on a date with Tony. He is MINE!" Stephen took a few deep breaths, releasing the smaller man.

 

"Jesus, Stephen.You got it bad for him, huh?" Tony blushed harshly, grabbing Stephen's hand.

 

"Uh... What's g-going on?" Stephen stood up and left, flipping Scott the bird. "Is he coming back? Did I do something wrong?" Scott sighed, shaking his head.

 

"The answer to your first question is probably not and the answer to your second question is ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Clint looked upset.

 

"Stephen just needs a little time to himself to sort some stuff out. He'll be alright in a few days." Bruce said quietly. Tony nodded, feeling confused. The genius was completely oblivious to the roots of Stephen's outburst.

 

"Well, anyway, let's order. I'm hungry!" Clint changed the subject quickly, not wanting Tony to worry too much.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The next day, Clint and Bruce were already gone and Tony was making breakfast when Stephen appeared in the kitchen.

 

"What are you doing?" The surgeon looked more disgruntled than usual.

 

"I'm making breakfast. I remembered you like pancakes and fruit." Tony looked proud of his work. Stephen growled, rolling his eyes.

 

"Yeah? Hurry up!" The surgeon snapped. Tony stared at the larger man for a moment before going back to cooking. Stephen ripped Tony's plate out of his hand as the smaller man was making it, shoving him aside.

 

"Get out of the fucking way!"

 

"What the hell, Stephen?! Why are you acting like this?" Tony stared at the surgeon, trying to hold back tears.

 

"If you weren't such a pain in the ass then I wouldn't act like this!" Stephen was now shouting.

 

"I haven't even done anything! You need to go back to bed if you're going to act like this!" Stephen scoffed.

 

"Shut your mouth, bitch! You don't know shit!" Stephen raised his hands, running them through his hair and growling when Tony flinched.

 

"I didn't do anything to you Stephen... Why are you being like this?"

 

"You definitely did something. It's your fucking fault!" Tony quickly took a few steps backwards.

 

"Stephen, please stop. I don't understand." The surgeon rolled his eyes, turning around to ignore Tony as he ate. Tony made himself a plate of pancakes and fruit sitting next to Stephen, hanging his head.

 

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 After breakfast, Stephen seemed even more upset, going as far as sending Tony to his room since everything the genius did made him angry. Tony waited until the surgeon fell asleep and crept out of the apartment. "Hey, Tony. What are you doing?" The mechanic turned to see Bucky staring at him, looking confused.

 

"I... Stephen was being mean. Really mean... So I was going out for some air..." Bucky looked worried now.

 

"Did he hurt you?" Tony shook his head.

 

No, no!" Of course not! Stephen just yelled at me a lot and sent me to my room like a child. He said I did something and that it was my fault but I have no idea what I did. Stephen just woke up like this." Bucky nodded in understanding.

 

"Does Stephen know you went out?" Tony shook his head once more.

 

"No... He's asleep." I'm not supposed to be out without supervision..." Bucky sighed.

 

"Come inside and hang out with me for a while. I'll text Clint the situation." The brunette let Tony inside his apartment where Scott and another man were watching TV on the couch.

 

"Hey Buck! Who's that?" Tony assumed this was Sam.

 

"This is Tony. He lives next door."

 

"Well I'm Sam. I've heard a lot about you from these two idiots. They seem to really like you." Tony blushed slightly and laughed, shaking his head.

 

"Sounds interesting." The mechanic said quietly.

 

"You could say that..." Sam said, looking Tony up and down, forming an opinion in his mind.

 

"Tony's adorable, right Sam? Plus Stephen has a major crush on him. I think he finally realized it last night, too." Sam looked surprised at Scott's statement.

 

"Really? Wait... Stephen Strange next door has a crush on Tony?" Scott nodded quickly, smiling like an idiot. "Wow... Then he must be something special." Bucky looked confused, again.

 

"Is it really that hard for the guy to like someone?" The brunette asked. Sam nodded.

 

"Stephen is really closed off. He doesn't talk about feelings much and his walls are hard to break through. Stephen also gets annoyed and angry very easily. Sometimes he's hard to get along with." The dark-skinned man explained. Tony was worried.

 

"Has Stephen ever hurt anyone he was angry with?" The genius was obviously scared.

 

"No, of course not. Stephen would never do that." Scott said loudly, looking slightly offended that Tony would even suggest the idea.

 

"Oh, okay. Sorry..." Tony stood there awkwardly while the other three men just stared at him. Finally, Bucky spoke up.

 

"Go ahead and hang out on the couch, Tony. I'll get you some pizza and a blanket. It gets cold in here sometimes." Tony immediately obeyed, sitting between Sam and Scott. Scott handed the smaller man the TV remote with an encouraging smile. Tony reluctantly turned on Cake Boss, thanking Bucky when the brunette got him pizza.

 

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A few hours passed without incident until someone knocked on the door. Bucky let Stephen in. The surgeon looked upset.

 

"Tony, you need to come home. Let's go." Tony got up and walked back to Stephen's apartment after Stephen thanked Bucky for watching him.

 

When they got inside, Stephen glared at Tony.

 

"What were you thinking?! When I woke up, I started freaking out because you weren't there! You didn't even leave a note. I was... You scared me, Tony." Stephen looked defeated. Tony hugged the surgeon tightly.

 

"I'm so sorry for making you worry! Please don't be upset anymore Stephen." The genius was crying, feeling terrible for scaring Stephen.

 

"It's okay, Tony, don't cry. I'm not upset, okay?" Tony nodded, squeezing Stephen for a bit before letting him go. "I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier. I'm sorry for that." Tony smiled at the surgeon, accepting his apology.

 

"Let's try not to make each other upset." Tony said quietly. Stephen nodded in agreement.

 

"If I'm upset, I'm really confused right now. Emotionally speaking, I'm not okay, but I will be. It'll take a few days to sort everything out."

 

That's okay. I know you'll be okay." Tony's smile made Stephen's heart melt. The surgeon blushed harshly and hid his face.

 

"Yeah... I'm hungry. Make some food?" Tony nodded.

 

"Sure."

 

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a comment and tell me what you think. Leave ideas for future chapters if you like! Thanks!
> 
> ~Christopher

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I would really appreciate you guys leaving comments, telling me what you think. Errors, do you like it, do you hate it, any ways I could make it better, ideas for a future chapter, ect. are all welcome. I will try to update soon. Thanks for reading! 
> 
> ~Christopher


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